Move Over, St. Peter – St. Paul Has Arrived

Heaven not only gained an angel today – but a saint! St. Paul to be specific. And our hearts our hurting.

My brother-in-law Paul was a saint – and not just because he's put up with my sister and her crazy family for more than 3 decades. (Well I guess that is mostly it.) And on his way to sainthood he became one of my favorite humans on the planet.

As you can see from the top photo, he was my sister Rayna's adventure partner in everything in life. They traveled near and far, covering all the states in the union, more tropical islands that I can count, and several European countries to boot. 

He knew my sister's love for taking pictures (I got that from her) meant a 10-mile drive could take a good hour or so. "Paul, pull over!" "Paul, stop here!" You see the sainthood mounting, don't you?

Over the years (yes, we're both young here), I've gotten to share in some of those adventures, too. Here we are in the mountains of Georgia with a new friend. (I hope it was a statue.)

And in South Padre enjoying Carter's first trip to the ocean! There was also...

Hanging out with Uncle Paul across the border, too. A little shopping in Mexico can be quite an adventure!

Drinking green beer (or just root beer) with 100% Irish Uncle Paul at Pepe's on St. Patty's Day. 

And seeing the Grand Canyon together when Rayna and Paul were just "wintering" a bit in Arizona before moving there in 2020.

Through the years, Paul and I have had a healthy rivalry. His Braves versus my Twins. Above we're with a college friend of mine at a Braves game in Atlanta in 1990 – the year before we beat them in the World Series (and Paul gifted me with a Braves World Series Champions t-shirt accidentally printed before the Braves lost in 7 game). 

While he may have turned his wife to the South side, I've held firm to my convictions all along. And we've had a lot of fun with it. Jim, too, since his Reds don't exactly like the Braves either! And we know if the Braves stomp all over the Twins and Reds this year that someone up above is pulling some strings.

One game we could always agree on is golf. We agreed it's both fun and frustrating! He was fortunate, in his retirement years especially, to be near golf courses year-round and able to swing a club. I'm pretty sure heaven will have the best course imaginable and he'll get his share of birdies.

But all along – during all the adventures and blessings in life – he had his share of health issues, too. Like a cat, he had 9 lives. Was saved a number of times when his ticker didn't want to tick anymore. Sadly, this last time around was too much. 

Our family has been praying hard for him while he's basically been hospitalized since Thanksgiving. God bless the doctors and nurses who have saved him and helped him all these years. We know that this time there was a lot stacked against him. They just couldn't fix him.

And can't fix our broken hearts, either.

I'll miss you so much, dear brother. I'm convinced God must be planning one helluva St. Patrick's Day party this year and He needs your help.

Love you forever, Paul. I'll always be your Bynski.